Blankets, Craig Thompson

"At 592 pages, Blankets may well be the single largest graphic novel ever published without being serialized first. Wrapped in the landscape of a blustery Wisconsin winter, Blankets explores the sibling rivalry of two brothers growing up in the isolated country, and the budding romance of two coming-of-age lovers. A tale of security and discovery, of playfulness and tragedy, of a fall from grace and the origins of faith. A profound and utterly beautiful work from Craig Thompson."







Blankets is the exact kind of book that libraries were made for; a sweepingly original, beautiful and heartfelt novel of teenage love, loss and identity that I would never ever pick up but which is utterly wonderful.

Blankets is tonally atypical of almost anything else out there, working as much as a late teen reimagining of Calvin and Hobbes or a less magical-realism Scott Pilgrim. Both of these featured protagonists stuck in their own heads, and Thompson's autobiographical tale is sweetly familiar for this. The constantly present snow covers up as much as he reveals with Blankets, but it's not just art school drawing and introspection, as there's a throughline of humour that he mines to great effect, with one passage in particular, of Thompson and his brother pretending to pee on one another leaving me in stitches.

It's maybe more funny in context.

This is a medium-pushing work, a book with heft and weight beyond just its size. This is a far more important, refreshing and thoughtful work about being a teenager than Catcher in the Rye could ever hope to be,

Also Try;
Daniel Clowes, Ghostworld
Bill Watterson, Calvin and Hobbes
Bryan Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim

Code Monkey Save World, Greg Pak and Jonathan Coulton

"A put-upon coding monkey teams up with a seething, lovelorn super-villain to fight robots, office worker zombies, and maybe even each other as they struggle to impress the amazing women for whom they fruitlessly long. Based on the songs of internet superstar musician Jonathan Coulton."

I picked this up from Kickstarter on the strength of being a fan of both Jonathan Coulton, on whose songs the book is based, and Greg Pak, the writer of the story. Growing out of a Twitter conversation between the two about how cool it would be to use the former's songs to create a interconnected Universe, the four issue comic series was hugely succesful and includes a number of extra's, including illustrated song lyrics, mini-comics and throwaway joke panels, as well as sample art from Takeshi Miyazawa.

The story is perfunctory, and serves more as a way of introducing the concepts and themes of Coulton's songs. This can take it in some weird directions, but it doesn't have the scope to do anything more than reference and move along, leaving it a little lost when it tries for epic scale (which, considering it features space war, robot invasions, zombie uprisings and multiple supervillains, is a frequent occurrence).

It's not bad, but it isn't the home run I had hoped for. The art though is lovely, and Code Monkey in particular is wonderfully drawn, with Miyazawa pencilling an expressiveness to every character that's a real treat.

Also Try:
Greg Pak, Incredible Hercules
Bryan Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim

Welcome to Megalopolis, Gail Simone and Jim Caliafore

"When the caped heroes of the world's safest city inexplicably all turn into homicidal lunatics, no one is safe.

The only rational thing to do is get the hell out of town. If only it were that easy..."














I kickstarted this (and it seems like a long time since I did) on the strangth of the fact that I like Gail Simone a lot (even if I've not especially enjoyed her Birds of Prey or recent Batgirl titles for DC) and Secret Six, which she did with Jim Caliafore

This isn't up to that standard, but as an example of world building it's an enjoyable read in its own right. The problem for all creator owned content is that, sooner or later, they have to explain their USP in a market crowded with too many characters, where even big name heroes can struggle to maintain their own series (just take a look at the list of cancelled book from the DC New 52 so far).

Kickstarter provides a medium for creators to release material without the worry that it won't sell. In reality, that's probably not an issue for Simone. She's a big enough name in the industry that her own creator owned stuff is going to sell. If Millar, Vaughan, Deconnick and Wood can do it, then Simone shouldn't have a problem, but clearly the vehicle of Kickstarter is a nice way to release new material.

The problem is that, shorn of the regular release schedule of mainstream comics the book can come across as ephemeral. Simone does an excellent job of creating a city that feels lived in, and Caliafore's art certainly helps. It's Hitchian in its scope and depth, and if his figure work isn't always as strong they certainly seem solid and real. The scenes of wholesale destruction have an appropriate sense of devastation. But without time to spend getting to know characters the death and sadness that permeates the book have little time to take route. Unlike The Walking Dead or Crossed, where a regular release or set of miniseries could bed in the core concept, we are introduced to characters and not given any time to appreciate them before they die.

It's not a bad thing to say, that I would rather there was more of it, but it does feel like a missed opportunity to set up a brand new universe that stands on its own.

Also Try:
Robert Kirkman, The Walking Dead
Brain Wood, DMZ
Simone and Caliafore, Secret Six

Blast Furance: Recreational Thief Vol 1, Ryan Browne

"Ryan Browne's painfully sweet improv comic created a page a day, an hour per page, with no preplanning for six whole months. Booyah!"








If God Hates Astronauts was nuts, this is totally insane. It's brilliant, on a whole different level, but at times it can veer too far into scatological tangents, especially once the flashback within flashbacks kick in.

The difference between the two books is clear; this isn't plot driven, it's a series of events trunk together in order for characters to reach a page later in the book. There's no clarity of drive or motive, for long periods the focus shifts to side characters as we hear their stories, which detracts from the overall story, such as it is.

It's a mistake to think of this in the same way as a weekly comic though. It's not a sitcom, it's a sketch show. For every bit that misses, there are three that work. The jokes are great, and the humour is all over the place, but the way it's written, as a page a day black and white comic, comes through to create a totally different reading experience.

It was a free thank you for kickstarting God Hates Astronauts, and it is an excellent read. Will it ever be finished? Who knows, and even if it is, it's unlikely to make sense. But still, it's worth taking a look at just to see what a great writer can do with some free time and some bonkers ideas.

Also Try:

Ryan Browne, God Hates Astronauts http://www.godhatesastronauts.com/

God Hates Astronauts, Ryan Browne

"6 years in the making, the web-comic GOD HATES ASTRONAUTS is finally published in one big awesome 180 page hardcover graphic novel!"









Despite the fact that it can be read online in full, I made the fort to help get this book Kickstarted because it's freaking amazing. The story of an invincible superhero whose head get destroyed in a fight, and is subsequently abandoned by his team due to his hideous disfigurement, and their continued adventures and battles amongst themselves, it's about as far from mainstream superhero comics as you can get.

It is frequently hilarious, mostly thanks to Browne's love of puns (fights against Owl Qaeda feature namechecks for bosses Adolf Hootler and Owlsama Bin Laden) or bizarre sound effects - a full page of a head being punched repeatedly has the air of Invincible's art, with the added bonus of Hercules style lettering.

An insane mash up of genres, styles and influences, it's perfect for anyone who loves Axe Cop, or Battle Pope, or anyone who just wants a fun read featuring Men with gorilla arms, boxing bears, jet pack cat lawyer or cowboys haunted by ghostly cow heads.

Frankly there isn't anything like this out there. It's an absolute riot, and it's totally worth reading.

Also Try:

Ryan Browne, God Hates Astronauts http://www.godhatesastronauts.com/

Alan Moore, Top Ten

Robert Kirkman, Invincible

Malachai and Ethan Nicolle, Axe Cop http://axecop.com/

Scott Pilgrim And The Infinite Sadness, Bryan Lee O'Malley

"The full-color, completely remastered, utterly astounding republication of the Scott Pilgrim epic continues! This new 6"x9" hardcover presents Scott's run-in with Ramona ex, Envy boy toy, and The Clash at Demon Head with bassist Todd Ingram as you've never seen it before - in full-color! Plus, previously unpublished extras, hard-to-find short stories, and exclusive bonus materials will make you see Scott Pilgrim in a whole new light!"












Oh man, I just love these books. Everything about them is totally gorgeous, and this third volume, featuring Envy Adams and some of the best battles of the Scott Pilgrim series is a real joy. As soon as I saw it on release I bought it, and read it that evening.

This is a fantastic collected edition, I mentioned in previous reviews how nicely put together they are, and there's not really much to hard. It's of good stock, handsomely coloured and printed on nice thick paper. They look great on my bookshelf, and I'm really pleased that there's another one of these out later in the year.

The colour editions have added a lot to what was an already great story. There are couple of tongue in cheek jokes about the reworking that are excellent - in particular one about Ramona changing her hair colour, with an acknowledgment that it worked better in the (black and white) original. It's not often that a comic makes me laugh out loud, but this did.

Unfortunately it's one of the less immediately comprehensible books, so as well as the usual great dialogue and awesome fights, there's a plot that jumps between multiple time periods and starts out of nowhere. It's easy enough to get caught up but certainly doesn't make it easy for a reader coming in blind.

Still, get round that small issue and you'll find you've got a book that rewards multiple readings - there's little that you'll find that enhances the story, but it's certainly worth doing just for how well done these books are. And if you're going to do that you would be mad not to invest in these books.

Also Try;
Bryan Lee O'Malley, Scott Pilgrim
Kieron Gillen, Young Avengers

Empowered Volume 1, Adam Warren

"Not only is costumed crimefighter "Empowered" saddled with a less-than-ideal superhero name, but she wears a skintight and cruelly revealing "supersuit" that only magnifies her body-image insecurities. Worse yet, the suit's unreliable powers are prone to failure, repeatedly leaving her in appallingly distressing situations . . . and giving her a shameful reputation as the lamest "cape" in the masks-and-tights business. Nonetheless, she pluckily braves the ordeals of her bottom-rung superheroic life with the help of her "thugalicious" boyfriend (and former Witless Minion) and her hard-drinking ninja girlfriend, not to mention the supervillainous advice from the caged alien demonlord watching DVDs from atop her coffee table . . . 

From Adam Warren comes Empowered, a butt-kicking, bootylicious superhero lampoon that raises the bar for long-john lust and low-brow laughs. Remove all previous notions of superhero entertainment from your puny mind . . . and prepare to be Empowered!"


Empowered is an English language superhero Manga (Warren describes it as being drawn in a manner that will put off American comics readers, and about a subject that will put off Asian Manga readers) that grew out of commisioned sketches of 'cheesecake' superheroines - softcore pictures of helpless women tied up.

So it doesn't really have much in the way of feminist credentials. It wears its interests on its sleeve. It's very clearly a T'n'A book, with the title character spending the majority of the book either naked or chained up.

And yet, for all its standing as a ridiculously uncomfortable public read, Empowered has an incredibly sweet heart, that elevates it beyond gratuitous swimsuit shots, and a wicked sense of humour that lashes out at the very stories it ends up parodying.

Empowered is a woman with serious body image issues, abilities that stem skintight suit that falls apart in combat and can't be covered up without losing power, and a group of villains who are quicker to capture and tie up the superheroes than actually kill them. It's a combination that leads to a lead character who is extremely awkward and unsure of herself - essentially the Marvel method of Superhero creation updated to the modern day.

With the majority of the story focusing on her relationships with ex-minion Thug Boy, and best friend (and ninja) Ninjette, we get a masterclass in creating character.

But the big sell is Willy Pete, a character who appears for less than 5 pages but who steals the book out from under the heroes. Willy Pete (code for White Phosphorous) is the kind of villain who can only appear in creator owned works, and every single panel he appears in is a horror show. For a villain with almost no page time at all he leaves an indelible mark on the book, both in the trauma he inflicts on Thug Boy and the way he sears himself across the mind of the reader.

If I pick up any of the later books, it will be to see what happens with him. The other good bits will just be a great bonus.

Also Try:
Birds of Prey, Gail Simone
She-Hulk: Single Green Female, Dan Slott
Captain Marvel, Kelly Sue DeConnick
Invincible, Robert Kirkman